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Details
LOT 1781
Mesopotamian Bronze Tanged Javelin
3RD-2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
18 1/8 in. (194 grams, 46 cm).
With a foliate blade, rhomboidal in section, raised mid-rib, medium-length stem widening at its base and forming a small stop, rectangular-section tang with bent terminal.
Provenance
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
Literature
Cf. Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, in Russian, see pl.XXXIII, no.82, from Tepe Hissar; Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, p.301, fig.2.88, subtype L2.B.b.
Footnotes
The specimen belongs to the category of tripartite spears with a long, pointed biconvex blade and a single bevelled tang. They seem to be a Mesopotamian and Susian (Elamite) variant, and this type also includes decorated blades, like the spear from Tello with the inscription 'King of Kish'.
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